Left Hand & Right Hand

[david63]

Earlier in the week I was looking through the cruises that are available for 2015/2016 and found a few that we were interested in. There was one in particular that we are very keen to do so, for the first time ever, I registered an interest via the form on the P&O web site.

I was called back by one of the agents the next morning and we discussed our requirements and was told that there was nothing more that he could do until the cruises went on sale (fair enough I thought). He then said that he would give me a call on the 27th march when the cruises go on sale. Today when I received my brochure it says that the cruise that I am interested in does not go on sale until the 11th April - so when, or should that be if, I get a call is anyone's guess.

It's little things like this that let P&O down as there really is no excuse.

(And before anyone says anything about booking so early and not waiting for the price to drop, we do have good reasons for wanting to do so)

[towny44]

That's the main reason I use a TA.

[david63]

Having had a TA "go to wall" after having booked a cruise is the reason why I now always deal direct with the operator for all of my travel arrangements - it's just not worth the hassel

[towny44]

Having had a TA "go to wall" after having booked a cruise is the reason why I now always deal direct with the operator for all of my travel arrangements - it's just not worth the hassel

But presumably your money and cruise booking was safe, so why the concern.
I think I get full value and more out of my TA's senior sales consultant, she handles any queries I have after a booking chasing up the operator for any info I need, and she also managed to get me a big 40% saving on a family cruise coming up in May, after a big price drop. Which when you think about it lost her and the company quite a bit of commission.
So TA's get my vote every time, especially after reading about some of the misinformation that your typical cruise line customer service agent provides.